


you're not that far

by caimani



Category: Jonas Brothers, Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - Teen Titans (Animated Series) Setting, Awsten is Poison Ivy, Established Relationship, M/M, except theyre all adults ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28995909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caimani/pseuds/caimani
Summary: For the last few months, Poison Ivy has had a singular fascination with the cute shapeshifter on the new hero team. He catches him, holds him for "ransom," and then releases him completely unharmed... and all the while, Joe has been catching something as well.Feelings.
Relationships: Joe Jonas/Awsten Knight
Kudos: 4





	you're not that far

**Author's Note:**

> what is this. who knows. actually I know. I made a joesten playlist and put poison ivy on it for some reason and then I wrote this. but its fun.

Joe’s only been upside down for a minute or so, but he’s already getting dizzy from the blood rushing to his head. He tries crunching his abs— significantly harder when his arms are pinned to his sides by vines. He doesn’t actually want to hurt the vines. They’ve got feelings (sort of), and sometimes they respond when he's nice. Maybe if he just tries to convince them to move… 

Awsten swats at his head. “Stop wiggling around and smile for the camera already.”

Joe blinks past the spots forming on his eyes to try and focus on the phone a few feet away. A moment later, he feels lipstick-painted lips press against his cheek. Joe freezes up. Oh god, he’s definitely blushing now. He’s been trying not to think about the outfit Awsten is wearing today but the reminder of the lipstick is bringing Joe back to the reality. It leaves very little to the imagination.

“Aww, you look so cute,” Awsten says, walking away from Joe to sit down on one of his three-foot-tall mutant mushrooms. Almost idly, he lifts a hand and twirls around a finger. The vines flip Joe so he’s upright again and Joe breathes out a loud sigh.

“Thanks, baby,” he says. He wiggles in the vines again, hoping they might loosen up. No such luck.

Awsten doesn’t miss that. He shoots Joe a look. “Stop that. You’re fine. You deal with Otto kicking you fifty feet in the air every other week. You can wait there for the half hour it’ll take for your hero friends to show up with my demands. Just gotta send this…” He crosses his legs and turns his attention back to his phone. His pretty red-painted lips curve into a smile that has Joe’s heartbeat picking up. “I’m putting this as my background. You’re so cute, baby.”

“Can I see it?” Joe asks.

Awsten hums. “Maybe. You gonna be a good boy for Poison Ivy and tell me how pretty my garden is tonight? I grew those flowers by the door just to match your new hair. I love the pink.”

“It’s gorgeous, baby,” Joe says earnestly. “Those flowers are so nice and pretty. They’re amazing. You must have worked so hard on them. But they’re not as pretty as you. You always take my breath away, baby, you’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

The vines go tighter for a moment as Awsten’s smile goes even brighter. He sets his phone down and walks back up to Joe. “You’re being cute tonight, Joe. You let me catch you so easily. Did you want to spend time with me so badly?”

Joe flushes. “Maybe…” he says. He didn’t even give Nick or anyone else a heads up when he saw the mutated dandelion messenger Awsten sent him. They’re probably annoyed at him, but it’s not exactly the first time he’s done this. He can’t help it. He’s such a sucker for Awsten.

The vines suddenly bring Joe lower to the ground, although they don’t release their grip on him. Awsten grabs Joe’s face in his hands and he kisses Joe’s lips. It’s frustratingly soft, just a hint of what Joe knows Awsten likes to do. A tease. 

Joe strains to try and kiss Awsten properly, but the vines hold him securely in place. Damn it.

“You’re adorable,” Awsten says. “But I’m not that easy, you know.” He taps gold painted fingernails against Joe’s cheeks. “It’s nice seeing you being so eager though. Make me feel special and maybe I’ll kiss you.”

“I didn’t tell anyone where I was going,” Joe says. Awsten’s smirk falls and is replaced by genuine surprise. He steps back, letting go of Joe’s face. Joe keeps going, his heart fast and his head dizzy with something that’s not all the mutated pollen and fragrances in the air. “I just wanted to see you. They might not have even realized I was gone until you sent that message just now. I hope it takes them all night to get what you want, so I can spend all that time with you.”

Awsten is quiet. His expression makes Joe want to explain more, to tell him just how badly he loves him and wants to just drop everything for him. He doesn’t care about being a superhero— not as much as he cares about making Awsten smile. When he turns into something small and cute and Awsten picks him up and puts flowers on him… that’s better than anything he has with the others. 

“Baby, I love you. I love you so much. I just— I love being with you. Every time I see any kind of flower or pretty plant, I think about you and—” 

“Joe,” Awsten says, cutting Joe off. He lifts something up, and holds it in front of Joe’s face, blocking off the view of Awsten’s beautiful face.

Joe blinks. Awsten’s phone. It’s open to a message. 

A message that has yet to be sent. He hasn't sent the others his threat.

“I didn’t send it yet,” Awsten admits. “If you’re serious about that, about waiting. And spending time together. I could… wait a little longer.” Awsten sounds hesitant. Joe tries to throw himself forward, to reach out to Awsten to reassure him. The vines hold him, but only for a second. Slowly, they release him. Joe falls to the ground and his limbs feel like rubber, but he reaches out to hold Awsten anyway. After putting the phone aside, he kisses him, pushing in all the ways he knows Awsten likes. He puts his hands around Awsten’s body and holds him like he might disappear if he doesn’t.

A moment later, he feels Awsten reciprocate. He pushes back, pressing Joe back against the wall of vines which curl excitedly against Joe’s back.

“Baby, I said I wanted all night with you,” Joe breathes against Awsten’s lips. Screw the city. Nick and Demi and Selena and Dewayne can handle it. Joe deserves a night off. He doesn’t deserve someone like Awsten, but he wants him anyway. “Can I have that? Please?”

Awsten laughs softly. “You’re so cute, Joe. You might be winning me over. Kiss me again and tell me I’m pretty.”

“You’re the prettiest thing in the world,” Joe says, worshipping Awsten’s face and neck with kisses. He wants to hold Awsten tighter, press him against Joe so he can feel every inch of him, but he wants to behave. “I’m so lucky to be here with you and your pretty, pretty flowers. Thank you for letting me be here with you, baby.”

Awsten’s hands slide into Joe’s hair, starting to slowly pet him. Joe melts into the touch. With a sigh, he collapses against Awsten’s chest, and his eyes close as Awsten pets his head with a gentle pressure that Joe will never get enough of. He clings to Awsten and probably whines when Awsten’s lips touch Joe’s forehead in a tender kiss.

“You’re so cute, Joe,” Awsten says. “You’re so good. What did I do to find someone like you, hm?”

Joe kisses Awsten’s neck, his head swimming with happiness. “You grabbed me when I was turned into a rabbit.”

“You’re a cute rabbit.” Awsten goes back to petting him. He sounds just as happy as Joe feels right now.

“And you stole my heart that day,” Joe says.

“I also stole fifty thousand dollars from your brother. I don’t think he liked that much.”

Joe laughs. 

Awsten takes a step back, but his mismatched eyes are shining and he’s smiling brightly at Joe. He takes Joe’s hands in his and walks with him to another section of the greenhouse, full of mutated flowers in a wide assortment of colors. There’s a blanket on the ground, and Awsten guides Joe down so they’re both sitting on it, Joe half in Awsten’s lap. He leans into Awsten’s touch and sighs again. Awsten pulls him even closer against his chest. 

Joe can hear Awsten’s heartbeat so intimately like this. He can hear a lot of things better than normal people, which gets to be a lot sometimes. Living in a city, it’s hard to deal with. But Awsten’s greenhouses are always a haven of peace. The mutant plants have their own sounds and smells, but it’s a soothing kind of life. And Awsten is always here, which automatically makes it Joe’s favorite place.

If he could, he would spend every day here.

“Joe,” Awsten says. His hands are petting Joe’s head again, and Joe feels so relaxed. He blinks at Awsten.

“Yeah, baby,” he says.

“You said you wanted to spend all night with me,” Awsten says. “Did you mean you just wanted to sleep? Or do you want to do something fun? All my friends in here have been so excited to meet you. I told them you’re really pretty when I have you on your back. When you’re doing everything I ask you to. Do you want to show them?”

Joe’s face heats up and he looks at all the flowers around them. It’s taken some time to understand the sentience of Awsten’s plants. He knows they’re all basically extensions of Awsten, but it’s still a little… exciting. It’s an audience, after all. 

Joe lies down just like Awsten said. “On my back, baby? What next?”

Awsten shuffles forward so he’s kneeling over Joe. “Oh, I like you like this.” All around him, the flowers shift closer. Joe feels like he’s on fire, but he focuses on Awsten’s happy face. God, he loves him.

Then, all of a sudden, there’s a different sound in Joe’s ears. He goes still, everything else momentarily put on hold. Oh shit.

“Nick’s here,” he says. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. How did he get here so fast? Awsten didn’t even send the message. Oh shit, he’s gonna make a mess and Awsten’s going to be so upset and Joe barely even got to kiss him and—

“Joe,” Awsten whispers. “Turn into something small. Quick.”

Joe doesn’t question it. He turns into the first small thing he can think of— some kind of little fluffy bat. Awsten picks him up gently and holds him against his back. Joe grabs onto the leaves and feels dizzy for a brand new reason.

Awsten smells really good. Joe’s claws cling to the leaves and holds himself as close as he can, immersing himself in the sweet floral scent coming from Awsten and not the sharp kevlar and metal of Nick coming into the greenhouse from the front door.

Awsten is walking out into the main part of the greenhouse. 

“Oh, there’s a pointy little bird in my greenhouse,” Awsten says, his voice dancing melodically. “I don’t suppose you’re here for an educational tour. Polite people normally call in advance for those.”

“Can we skip the small talk?” Nick says, sounding exasperated. Joe tries futilely to hide himself in the leaves covering Awsten’s back. There’s not a whole lot of leaves there, unfortunately. As long as Awsten doesn’t turn his back on Nick, then Nick won’t be able to notice. Most likely, he’s using his infrared lenses to look for heat signatures. It’s what he normally does.

“Yeah, okay,” Awsten says. “I guess I should thank you for using the door and not smashing through my windows. Doors do exist for a reason, after all. Nice you finally learned that.”

“You reinforced the windows after the last time I did that,” Nick says.

“I sure did! Thanks to a very generous donation, all of my greenhouses are now earthquake-proof.”

“Quit playing around, Ivy. Where is he?” 

“Hm? Who?”

“You know who.”

Awsten sits down on something, obstructing Joe from view with the aid of a few very large leaves that inch closer to them. “Have you misplaced someone important? Don’t tell me it’s our dear Dewayne. I’ll turn the city upside down to look for that nice gentleman if he’s gone missing. Oh, I don’t mean to imply you aren’t a gentleman, Nick, but if you were a little more polite and broke about fifteen less windows, then maybe I’d do the same for you too.”

Joe would laugh if he wasn’t a very small bat right now. Also if he wasn’t trying so hard to avoid being noticed. 

“Save your flirting for my brother,” Nick says. “Actually, just tell me where he is.”

“If you think that was flirting, I can see why you’re still aggressively single,” Awsten says. “And— wait— Joe’s missing?” He stands up suddenly, but not so quickly that Joe is rocked around where he’s hiding. In fact, it looks like one of the smaller mutant leaves has fastened itself to Awsten’s back, hiding Joe more effectively. “Oh my god, why didn’t you say so? That’s awful. You want help looking for him, right? I can send out some spores, some dandelion seeds, see if I can find a trace of his fluffy little—”

“Ivy, I know you have him,” Nick interrupts. “Just give him back and I won’t have to fight you.”

Awsten scoffs. “Fight? You know I don’t do that. I just grow plants, I don’t cause trouble.”

“You kidnap my brother every other week and extort money out of me.”

“I’m pretty sure if you ask him, he’ll say he showed up willingly. And those are all legally documented as donations, so don’t call it extortion. You make me sound evil.”

“You’re a criminal, and right now, you’re a suspect in a kidnapping,” Nick says defiantly. 

“And you’re trespassing on private property,” Awsten snaps. 

Oh, this is rapidly turning into a mess. Joe lets go of Awsten’s back and changes back into his human form, stumbling onto the grass directly behind Awsten.

“Don’t fight,” he blurts out as soon as his vocal chords are the right shape for making speech. He gets up and stands in front of Awsten. “Nick, it’s okay, don’t hurt Awsten. He didn’t do anything bad.”

Nick looks angry, and Joe wants to go back to hiding behind Awsten, but he holds his position. Nick is in his full uniform and armor, and there’s a birdarang gleaming in his hand. 

“Joe,” he says. “Come on. I’m here to take you home.”

“Excuse you,” Awsten says, pushing in front of Joe and holding his hand. “We were in the middle of a date. Joe’s a big boy, so I’m not making any promises that he’ll be back home before midnight.”

“You lied to me, Ivy,” Nick says.

Awsten smirks at him. “Yes.”

The birdarang is flying through the air before Joe can react. Thankfully, a vine springs up out of nowhere and blocks the projectile before it can hurt Awsten.

“Nick!” Joe shouts. “Please be nice! Me and Awsten are just hanging out, I promise. No, uh, expectations of donations at all.” Nick doesn’t need to know about the drafted message. “I’ll be back when we’re done, I promise.”

“I don’t promise anything,” Awsten says.

“I don’t trust him,” Nick says. 

“Trust me then,” Joe says. “I want to be here. I really do. I like him. He’s a good guy.”

Nick stands still for a moment, still scowling. Finally, he speaks. “We’re talking about this when you get back. As a team. This affects more than just you, Joe.”

“Alright,” Joe says. It’s a talk he’s not looking forward to having, and it’s sort of ruining the mood for anything he was hoping to do with Awsten tonight. But it’s only fair, he supposes. They are a team, and they have to be able to trust each other. Keeping secrets like this doesn’t help.

Nick’s scowl somehow goes even deeper. “We’re going to be keeping an eye on you, Ivy.”

Awsten crosses his arms. “Just try it.”

Joe groans. Nick leaves the greenhouse and Joe collapses onto the ground. He feels so tired now. Maybe he should just go back to Awsten’s little flower room and sleep. He’s dug himself into a mess, and he’s going to need to somehow convince the others that no, Awsten hasn’t mind-controlled him and he’s not blackmailing him or anything (Awsten values communication and consent and he would never do that). 

Awsten sits down on the ground with him and puts his arms around Joe, hugging him from behind.

“Your brother is a bit of a jerk,” he says. 

“Sorry,” Joe says. “He ruined the night. Actually, I guess I ruined it by running into this without thinking it through.”

“Hmm,” Awsten says. One of his hands remains around Joe’s torso while the other finds the top of his head and starts petting him again. “Not necessarily. So they know now. We’ll figure it out. You love me, and I love you too. And no matter what, I’ve got you for the night. And you’ve got me.”

Awsten places a soft kiss on Joe’s neck. Joe leans back, his brain slowing down so it’s only paying attention to Awsten.

“And I don’t mind starting all over again, baby,” Awsten whispers against Joe’s skin.

Joe turns around and finds Awsten’s lips again.


End file.
